IRANIAN intelligence officers tried to lure a UK- based journalist to Turkey in order to kidnap her after she reported on violent clashes that have rocked the Islamic country.

The plan, which failed, was part of an ongoing campaign of terror and harassment aimed at journalists working for Iran International, an independent 24-hour news channel based in London.

The news emergeges as tensions between Iran and the West reach crisis point following the assassination of Maj Gen Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force and architect of Iran’s foreign policy in the Middle East.

A dozen high profile presenters and journalists at the Persian language broadcaster have been contacted by Iran’s notorious Ministry of Intelligence and National Security with threats that they will be snatched off London’s streets unless they leave their jobs.

Some have been bombarded with menacing phone calls through the night, while others have had family members hauled into its Tehran headquarters in an attempt to persuade journalists to quit the channel, which has been broadcasting thousands of submitted videos showing Iran’s security forces “shooting to kill” in a bid to quell widespread protests.